protéger

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pʁɔ.te.ʒe/^[1]

Forms

protéger^[1] The Académie wrote proteger in 1694 and 1718, protéger from 1740.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōtegō (“to cover in front; to shelter; to protect”), from prō- (“in front”) and tegō (“to cover; to shelter”) (see toit).^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} protection (12th century) and protecteur (1234) were borrowed earlier from the Late Latin derivatives “prōtēctiō” and “prōtēctor”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Eustache Deschamps (end of the 14th century) prays Douce Vierge [...] nous deffen, protege et garde; of a thing it is found in 1395, but the verb is rare before the 17th century.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Se protéger is in Voltaire (1756), and of a thing that forms a shield, a barrier, in 1763.^[2][3] In the classical period the idea of support came first: to further someone's interests or career (1671), whence “to keep a woman” (Balzac, 1838).^[2][3] The Encyclopédie (1754) speaks of protecting the arts and sciences and a country's trade, the source of protectionnisme (1845).^[2][5] Un protégé is found in 1741, État protégé in 1875, passage protégé on the roads about 1955, and computer files are protégés from 1969.^[2][3]

Timeline

• Late 14th century – Eustache Deschamps.^[2]
• 1395 – Of a thing.^[2]
• 1671 – To further someone's career.^[2]
• 1741 – Protégé, protégée.^[2]
• 1754 – To protect trade, Encyclopédie.^[2]
• 1838 – To keep a woman, Balzac.^[2]
• 1845 – Protectionnisme.^[5]
• 1969 – In computing.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To protect, defend, shelter: protéger les faibles, protéger quelqu'un contre, se protéger du froid.^[7][8][1]
2. Of a thing, to shield: la haie protège le jardin du vent.^[2][9]
3. To support, patronize: protéger les arts; to further someone's career.^[2][9]
4. (economics) To protect a country's industry by tariffs.^[3]
5. (computing) To protect a file against access or copying.^[2]

Word family

• protégé
• protège-cahier
• protège-dents
• protège-tibia

Related words

• protecteur
• protection
• toit
• Latin prōtegō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 469b
7. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette